George Coetzee and Darren Fichardt sit just outside the top 10 after the second round of the Italian Open at Golf Club Milano on Friday.
Coetzee, SA’s best-placed golfer after the first round, had his fair share of ups and downs in his opening 10 holes, with three bogeys halting his progress and two birdies giving him momentum.
The 31-year-old has three European Tour wins to his name, with the last coming in Mauritius in 2015, and sits in a share of 11th place after 36 holes thanks to three birdies in four holes to close his second round.
Coetzee is joined by 2017 Joburg Open winner and countryman Fichardt, who shot a second successive 67 on Friday. The 41-year-old began with five pars, but a birdie at the sixth helped him kickstart his day. From there, Fichardt made birdies at 8, 10 and 12, before dropping his only shot on the 13th.
That bogey was quickly erased by his final birdie on the next hole to join Coetzee in the mix heading into the weekend in Monza.
Richard Sterne is two shots further back, and Dean Burmester sits two behind Sterne as the only other South Africans to make the cut.
At the top, Marcus Fraser produced the lowest round of his European Tour career to grab a share of the lead at the halfway stage. The Australian fired nine birdies – including five in a row from the eighth – and no bogeys to sign for a second-round 62 and get to 13-under-par.
The 39-year-old had first round co-leader Matt Wallace for company at the top of the leaderboard after the Englishman carded an eagle and four birdies in his bogey-free 65.
Early starters Fraser and Wallace sit two strokes clear of nearest challengers Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Jamie Donaldson, who posted 67s in the afternoon to head into the weekend on 11-under.
Defending champion and home favourite Francesco Molinari was another shot back in fifth after mixing six birdies with three bogeys on day two.
Masters champion Sergio Garcia and last week’s Alfred Dunhill Links championship winner Tyrrell Hatton were then among the large group on nine-under after another day of low scoring at Golf Club Milano.
Photo: Christopher Lee/Getty Images
Additional reporting: European Tour
